A desirable tool case serves several functions, for example, providing a location for tools to be stored and easily located when they are needed. Tools are often needed when a user is performing tasks in elevated positions on a ladder. As such, certain devices have been developed for supporting tools and/or other articles upon a ladder. However, these devices often fail to serve the functions expected from desirable tool cases. Also, such known devices often do not allow tools to be easily organized and readily accessed and/or have very limited storage capacity.
Additionally, such known devices are often unstable when placed upon a ladder and/or are difficult to use in locations away from a ladder. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,854 describes a pouch having a flexible skirt, which may hang around the top of a step ladder. When the flexible pouch is positioned on the ladder, the weight of articles in its pockets, particularly the side pockets that hang with the flexible skirt around the top of the ladder, stabilize the pouch on the ladder. As such, the stability of the pouch on the ladder is dependent upon having tools of a particular weight positioned in particular pockets of the pouch; such stability could be jeopardized if a weighty tool were removed from the pocket and used. Additionally, the flexible pouch collapses when positioned on other surfaces, such as a table-top or a floor, making it difficult to use in locations away from the ladder.
Furthermore, certain known devices are often of a design that is cumbersome to manufacture, to store and to use. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,998 describes a tool carrier that is made from a strong lightweight material, such as plastic, having a recess formed in a bottom surface and various cavities molded through an upper surface, shaped to hold particular tools. In this regard, the tool carrier has a molded, rigid construction that can be cumbersome to manufacture, store and maneuver. Additionally, the tool carrier's molded cavities are designed to hold particular tools; once formed, these cavities are not appropriate for holding other tools that may be useful or desirable in certain situations.
As such, there is a need in the art for a device that satisfactorily addresses the above-mentioned problems associated with known devices designed for supporting tools and/or other articles upon a ladder.